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NEWS

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THE CANBERRA TIMES Saturday, July 13, 2013 canberratimes.com.au

Car chased by police runs out of petrol

By Stephanie Anderson

Weekend thieves hit building sites

By Dante Ceccon

A police pursuit that reached speeds of more than 200 km/h came to an abrupt halt after the allegedly stolen car ran out of petrol near Gunning on Thursday night. Police said the pursuit began after members of the Goulburn Highway Patrol conducted a registration check on a car driving south on Hume Highway near Goulburn about 10.30pm. They said the Queensland-registered Holden was listed as stolen, and pursued the vehicle for about 50 kilometres before it ran out of petrol just past the Gunning exit. Two men and a woman were arrested and taken to Goulburn Police Station. Police said the 34-year-old male driver was charged with several offences, including police pursuit, resisting arrest and speeding. A 32-year-old man and 24-yearold woman were charged with riding in a stolen car. David Casson, 34, Chris Nieass, 32, and Jodie McIntyre, 24, appeared in Goulburn Local Court on Friday and were refused bail. Casson was charged with police pursuit, resisting arrest and speeding, and two counts of receiving stolen goods outside NSW among other charges. A court spokeswoman said no pleas were entered and they are set to reappear in Goulburn Local Court via video link on Wednesday.

Thieves are targeting builders working in the expanding suburbs of Gungahlin with compressors, cement mixers and even toilets being stolen from unfinished homes. Police have responded to 16 reports of thefts in the area during the past three months, most taking place at the weekend while the sites are unattended. Victims of the thefts, which have happened mainly on Friday and Saturday nights, have lost thousands of dollars in stolen equipment, adding more financial pressure in what are already challenging times for the local industry. Bricklayer Greg Swan said his company has had building materials and tools such as shovels stolen and other equipment vandalised. We never get anything back, Mr Swan said. You put in a hard days work and you come in the next day and this is what you find. Officer-in-charge of Gungahlin police station Sergeant Donna Hofmeier said equipment reported stolen in recent weeks included compressors, cement

mixers and heavy duty drills. Toilets, hot water systems and kitchen items had also disappeared from unfinished homes. Sergeant Hofmeier said tradespeople needed to lock it up, chain it up or take it home. There are lots of people coming and going from building sites, Sergeant Hofmeier said. Theres many opportunities on Friday and Saturday nights for people to stop and have a look and see if any tools have been left out. Master Builders Association ACT executive director John Miller said projects were being pushed back by thieves. As people are racing to get into their homes, particularly at busy times of the year, it delays that process, Mr Miller said. People are pretty calculating about this and they will go looking for opportunity. While most builders are insured, it can be costly and timeconsuming for the the industry to pursue claims, Mr Miller said. Gungahlin residents are urged to be on the lookout for any suspicious behaviour around worksites and to call police if theyve seen theft taking place.

SECURITY: Sergeant Donna Hofmeier and MBA chief John Miller inspect a local site. Builders have been warned to lock up equipment. Photo: JEFFREY CHAN

Asbestos alert as war honour rolls removed

By Ross Peake

An asbestos removal company was called to the Australian War Memorial on Friday night to work on the roll of honour. The bronze panels in the eastern cloister are being rearranged to make space for new panels bearing the names of those killed in non-warlike operations such as peacekeeping. The panels for Korea and Vietnam have been placed at the end of the World War II section and the panel for Afghanistan on the same wall. However, grout between sandstone blocks behind the panels that were removed is suspected of containing asbestos. The memorial is a heritage building, and buildings of this age can contain asbestos in the mastic [grout], a spokeswoman said. This is commonly known as bonded asbestos, as it is contained within other material and does not readily become airborne as dust when it is handled. The memorial called an asbestos removalist company to deal with the mastic and an asbestos consultant to do continuous monitoring of the air. The work was due to be done after the memorial closed to visitors on Friday. The spokeswoman said the two companies had assured the memorial the work would be done in a confined and secure space, sealed off during the work and cleaned afterwards. The companies will have to give the all-clear before the area is opened for visitors on Saturday. The memorial is ensuring that the staff and public are safe at all times, while we undertake this significant work to the roll of honour, the spokeswoman said.

HONOUR ROLL: The proposed changes.

The bronze panels on the roll of honour record 102,000 names of Australians who have died serving the country in conflicts dating to the 19th century, while the names of the 48 peacekeepers and other personnel have been recorded in a remembrance book in an alcove at one end of the honour roll. The decision to change the panels came earlier this year after a concerted campaign by relatives of peacekeepers, who believed their service has not been sufficiently recognised. The change in policy was supported by representatives of the chiefs of all three armed services. The criteria for names of service personnel who die on active service to be placed on the roll of honour will include non-warlike as well as warlike operations. A new gallery dedicated to Australian service and sacrifice in the World War I battle of Passchendaele opened on Friday in Zonnebeke, Belgium.

Hospitals financial troubles leave staff on shaky ground

By Noel Towell

Healthcare workers at a private hospital in Canberras south face an uncertain future after its owners called in administrators this week. The Canberra Specialist Surgical Centre in Deakin is owned by the troubled national health company Ortho Group, which is battling debts approaching $100 million. Fairfax Media revealed in April that the Ortho Group was in financial strife and facing an exodus of surgeons. A statement from the company, based in Sydney, conceded the crisis surrounding its Canberra business deepened this year when nine out of 11 orthopaedic surgeons left the Canberra Specialist Surgical Centre over a contractual row with Ortho Group. But the company refused to disclose how many staff are employed at the centre and colocated business Capital Specialist Imaging. Ortho Group [Hospitals] Pty Ltd has entered voluntary administration after six years of operation, the statement said. The business was founded in 2007 to develop state-of-the-art day surgery facilities

custom designed for orthopaedics ... While management has been committed to finding solutions for the underperforming parts of the business, unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. Ortho Group said the surgeons departure left the centre in Deakin unable to cover its costs and that a deal to sell the hospital had recently fallen through at the last minute. This had an immediate impact on the costs of maintaining operations at [Canberra Specialist Surgical Centre], which was difficult to mitigate in the short term, the companys statement said. Negotiations to sell [Canberra Specialist Surgical Centre] were unsuccessful last week, leaving the companys directors with no option but to place the business into voluntary administration. The administrators will be considering all options available to them in respect of [Canberra Specialist Surgical Centre] and Capital Specialist Imaging in Canberra in order to maximise the return to stakeholders and will advise their future plans as a matter of urgency.

Engineers win business award

A Fyshwick engineering business has been named the 2013 Telstra ACT Business of the Year for reducing the environmental impact of construction. Rudds Consulting Engineers built an energy-neutral head office in Fyshwick, showcasing to customers the latest energy-efficient technology, as well as helping construct several environmentally sound buildings across Canberra. The award was presented by the ACT Minister for Education and Training Joy Burch at a ceremony on Friday night. We help companies focus on environmentally friendly building practices and show them that using green building methods can improve their bottom line, said Rudds Consulting owner Andrew Beattie. The Telstra Australian Business Awards were launched in 1992 to recognise the innovations of small and medium businesses across Australian. Telstra Country Wide area general manager Chris Taylor said the judges had also been impressed with the companys innovative approach to their workforce. Their impressive commitment to staff development and growth, through their philosophy of lifelong learning to create engineers of the future, also helped secure their win, he said. They will now go to the National Telstra Business Awards to compete for more than $500,000 in cash and business products. The winner will be announced in Sydney on 22nd August.